Oct 31, 2015

The boys dressed up and wanted me to share their pictures with you! We couldn't let a Halloween go by without this, could we?!

Pimp was actually pretty good with this costume. I was surprised! He didn't look as angry as usual (just a little bit annoyed). Phantom cracked me up! I don't think he's too used to this dress-up thing yet... the side-eye he gave me was priceless. And Moo. I love Moo. He just is so good about everything.

May 21, 2015

Happy Three Cats Thursday, Cuteheads! I wanted to update you on the boys since we have some news. Pimp and Phantom went to the vet last weekend.

I have been noticing that Phantom starts breathing pretty heavy after just a few minutes of playtime. We do play pretty crazy with Da Bird, but I don't think I've ever noticed Pimp or Moo getting like that before, so I was concerned. He doesn't open-mouth pant, but his tummy area definitely looks he's breathing harder than he should at this age. He's only 2.

Our awesome vet, Dr. McAllister, asked a bunch of questions and did an abdominal x-ray to make sure he doesn't have a hernia (this could be very bad if he ever needed surgery later) and to see if he could see anything else, and it turns out that Phantom has chronic lung disease. So he definitely has kitty asthma of some sort. Since he's not bad all the time, we are going to watch it to make sure he doesn't get worse, and one day he may need to take steroids for it.

See the little bit of cloudiness in his chest on the right, and the equivalent spot on the left a little? That's what we're looking at.

There is some part of his lung that is compromised, it looks like, probably from whatever injury he had when I first rescued him from the shelter (remember he had a bum leg and was basically walking flat-footed from the knee down with one leg?). Maybe whatever did that to him, also injured his lung and we didn't know it until now.

He also asked radiologist to take a look, because it looked like there was some other cloudy stuff in the x-ray that could be something else. He called me Tuesday and told me that the radiologist thought it might either be heartworms or lung worms. I freaked out at heartworms. He told me that they typically stay as larvae in cats and that they can just die off in time, but still. I don't want any chances of him not being perfect. :(

So we are going back today to get a "heartworm antibody" test to detect the presence of heartworms or not. And then we'll go from there. Honestly, paws crossed it's lung worms because those are treatable with a round of panacur dewormer, but heartworms are different, I guess. Think good for Phantom today!

He also had the stinkiest poop in the world, so we're waiting for fecal results back too. We are going to the vet at 4 p.m.

Pimp also went so we could check on his thyroid levels. He was such a good boy! The good news so far is that he weighs exactly the same as he did last time, so he's not losing more weight! We should find out today what the results are. Right now he's taking Methomazole - one pill in the morning and a half a pill at night to manage it.

Since we're talking poop, Pimp's poop has been less than impressive lately, so he got a fecal too. (It's OK to talk about poop, right?)

I didn't take any pictures of him at the vet visit for some reason. I usually do. I must have been side-tracked by Phantom's breathing. The car ride stressed him out too, poor guy.

Moo got lucky and didn't have to go to the vet next time. His turn is coming up though!

P.S. Exciting news on my side... I quit my job! Eeeeee! I'm so excited, and so nervous at the same time. I did it so that I could work on CatLadyBox full-time, because I think it can really be awesome! And I thought to myself, if I do all the work I do for someone else all day (I am (was!) the Director of Marketing for a company called Shore Excursions Group) for own business instead, imagine how much more it could grow and how much faster! And that was that. I just jumped off the cliff and gave them my notice a few weeks ago.

I will keep you all posted on how it goes! I figure I put all I have into it now, and hopefully it works! I got a table at CatConLA next month. Have you heard of this?! It's like ComicCon, but for cat people! So hopefully that does awesome and really helps get the word out. I'm excited for this new adventure!

Plus, as far as the boys are concerned, the best part is that I get to work from home with them as my assistants from now on! :)

May 10, 2015

Aw! I'm in love with the Google Doodle today! It's baby animals and their mothers, and it's animated!

If you're not familiar with the Google Doodle, they always have some fun image or animation (and sometimes even an interactive game that you can play!) on www.google.com for every holiday. This has got to be one of my favorites ever. So cute!

Here's a screenshot of my favorite part (there are also duckies and bunnies and more). Go check it out yourself today! It'll be gone tomorrow, so make sure you look today on Mother's Day.

BONUS CUTES: Go check out the CatLadyBox social channels like Facebook and Instagram! I created a bunch of super cute and fun images about being a cat mom and am sharing them all day yesterday and today. Here's one of my favorites!

P.P.S. Don't forget about the CatLadyBox sale I'm having this weekend! You can use the coupon code CATMOM and get 10% off the pre-order price. It's the perfect Cat Mom's day gift for yourself! (I promise not to bug you all too much about this all the time, but I'm just so excited about it and I plan on doing a ton of cute stuff there too, since it's just what I like to do! :)

May 9, 2015

When people ask me if I have children, I smile and say, "Yes. I have cats."

I have three children, ranging from ages 15 to 2. They depend on me for everything... and they are my everything.

At almost 16 years old, Pimp is my old man. He was once a thick, stocky 23-pound cat, and now I affectionately call him my little bag of bones. He's had several big health issues in the last few years, but I'd move heaven and earth (and go beyond broke in the process) to do whatever it takes to keep him with me as long as I can. He's doing great now, snoozing away in his self-heating cat bed.

Pimp beard!

My second child, Moo, is 7 years old. He is my velcro kitty. He loves me with every black and white fur on his chunky body, and spends his days following me around begging to be picked up. I have no idea what his background is. He showed up at my back porch when he was about a year and a half old and made a strong case for why I should be his mom until I eventually caved and brought him in. He definitely has trust issues, so I hope he didn't have a rough life before working his way into mine, but I do know that he'll never have to worry about being out on the streets again.

Moo makes a great scarf.

And then there's Phantom. Phantom was an accident. He's that little baby in a family of already-grown kids with the frazzled mom who just isn't sure how she got herself into this situation of having another little rugrat around again. (If you've been reading the blog for a while, you know exactly what I mean!) Phantom was dumped at the county shelter by his previous owners and I helped rescue him, intending to get him to someone who lived several states away. I agreed to foster him while we set up his ride there, but long story short, that didn't work out... and neither did the idea of "temporary" fostering that I had. This fool melted my heart almost immediately, and I love him so much that he can do all the havoc-wreaking he does around the house, and I can't help but smile.

Phantom wondering who that handsome dude in the camera is.

Being a cat mom means that I am fully responsible for three precious lives.

I know exactly what they like and don't like to eat. (Phantom hates anything chicken, Moo doesn't like anything even remotely chunky, and Pimp prefers his covered in gravy.)

I know exactly what toys they prefer to play with. (Phantom only likes wand toys, Moo likes bigger stuffed animal toys, and Pimp only likes those little multi-pack mice.)

I know what they are saying when they talk to me. (Phantom has a special chirp when he wants to play, Moo yells at me when he wants to get picked up, and Pimp has a special "turn on the bathroom faucet" meow.)

I know their sleeping routines and patterns. (Phantom sleeps on the floor near the foot of the bed or curled up along the bedroom wall, Moo sleeps at the foot of the bed on my side against my feet, and Pimp sleeps right up next to me on my side snuggled up right to my chest.)

I also know they each have their little "things" that make them special.

Moo, for instance, loves boxes. If I put a box on the floor -- any box, any time of the day -- he'll be in it within 10 seconds, guaranteed. It's adorable and comical. He also brings me toys when I'm gone for the day... when I get home there are always two or three of his favorites (always the stuffed gator and the rat, sometimes the end of a feather wand toy that broke off years ago). We call this his job, and he does a great job of it. He doesn't even take weekends off!

Even this happened one moving day... The box determination is admirable.

Pimp gets very touchy-feely around catnip. He doesn't get crazy like some cats, he just loves it. When he's on the nip, he loves to rub his face all over whatever toy it is and drool all over it. He also loves to be petted on the bathroom counter. Often he'll jump up and yell at me for what I think means to turn the faucet on, but all he really wanted to do is be petted. So we do that and he turns on the purr motor, makes this blissfully happy face and looks up with his eyes closed as I pet him just the right way on his forehead between his eyes.

Black and white lovey face.

Phantom has so many "things" that I have no idea where to start. Let's just leave it at the fact that I have five empty shelves on the bookcase because he won't allow things to be on them, all of our art on the walls is crooked because he finds a way to redecorate, and no one has a minute of peace until he's been sufficiently worn out with his Da Bird wand toy. This house is very different than before he came along, but I wouldn't change it for the world.

Phantom hates straight pictures.

Being a cat mom is awesome. My three boys give me so much joy and are each so unique and loving and silly. They have such different personalities! There is never a dull moment around here, and I am always surrounded by unconditional love.

Some people think cats are boring or that owning a cat is not cool. Only "crazy" people have cats and dog owners are so much more normal, they think. They think cats do nothing but sleep all day and that they are all the same.

They all think wrong, though. We know that, and I hope one day everyone else does too. Being a cat mom is a wonderful thing to be!

What does being a cat mom mean to you? Let's all share in the comments!

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NOTE FROM CUTE: I am not sure if you all saw, but I just started a new business -- CatLadyBox. It's the first-ever monthly subscription box for people who love cats! I just launched it a few weeks ago, and I can't wait to start sending all this fabulous cat-themed stuff to everyone! I'm so excited!

Apr 23, 2015

Happy Three Cats Thursday, Cuteheads! Today Phantom is taking over, as he does every single friggin' day in our house.

I have a question, and I'm hoping you all can offer some suggestions.

Phantom is bad. Adorable and cuddly and loving... but bad. He knocks anything off any surface -- while looking right at me. He tries to move anything that isn't glued down, just to get my attention. He even moves paintings on the wall!

And when I look at him or tell him no, he makes the cutest meow and then runs over to his toy box, like I'm going to play with him. It's cute that he does that, but so honestly maddening that he does it all day, every day. He never gets tired! I can't seem to get anything done at the computer without saying "No!" 10 times a minute.

I have tried reverse pychoolgy and ignoring him. I have tried being nice and calling him over from whatever bad he is doing and loving on him, so he gets the idea that "stop!" is good, I have tried to play with him to wear him out (that lasts about 10 minutes and he's back at it), I have tried blasters (look up SCCCAT from PetSafe - great concept, but I need about 100 of them!)... and I have no idea what else to try!

Does anyone have any ideas?

Obviously I love him even though he's horrible, but I'd really like to be able to get some work done at home, especially since I'm trying to start a real, legitimate business here (CatLadyBox!) and I actually have to work! :)